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The differences between head servers and waitresses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a head server has an average salary of $111,194, which is higher than the $24,770 average annual salary of a waitress.
The top three skills for a head server include customer service, new servers and POS. The most important skills for a waitress are food orders, food preparation, and customer orders.
| Head Server | Waitress | |
| Yearly salary | $111,194 | $24,770 |
| Hourly rate | $53.46 | $11.91 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 64,405 | 87,315 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A head server is primarily in charge of supervising waiters in a restaurant or similar setting, ensuring customer satisfaction. Aside from leading a team of servers, they also assist customers by offering menus, taking and serving orders, even providing suggestions when needed. Moreover, they usually delegate tasks, manage schedules, respond to inquiries, and address issues and concerns, giving corrective measures. As a head server, it is also essential to lead and encourage the team, all while implementing the restaurant's policies and health standards.
Waitresses are responsible for ensuring that guests are given proper attention during their visit to the restaurant. They guide guests to their table, provide menu boards, answer any questions the guests may have, take the guests' order, and communicate the order to the kitchen. Once the order is ready, waitresses collect the food from the kitchen and serve it to the guests. They then give guests time to finish their meal. Upon the guests' request, waitresses bring them their bill and wait for them to finish paying up. Once the guests leave, waitresses are responsible for ensuring that the table is ready for the next guests.
Head servers and waitresses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Head Server | Waitress | |
| Average salary | $111,194 | $24,770 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $238,000 | Between $17,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | New York Institute of Technology |
| Best paying industry | - | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a head server and a waitress in terms of educational background:
| Head Server | Waitress | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between head servers' and waitresses' demographics:
| Head Server | Waitress | |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 9.3% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |